Todd, Thomas take over helm of W’burg Fire & Rescue

Above, firefighter Troy Thomas, left, was recently promoted to assistant chief and assistant chief Larry Todd was recently promoted to chief of Williamsburg Fire and Rescue following the retirement of Chief James Privett.

Williamsburg Fire and Rescue has some new leadership thanks to the retirement of its long time chief.

Mayor Roddy Harrison announced during the Aug. 8 city council meeting that Assistant Chief Larry Todd had been selected to replace James Privett as fire chief.

“He has proved his worthiness. I think he will do a really good job,” Harrison said.

Veteran firefighter Troy Thomas has been selected to replace Todd as assistant chief.

“Troy is motivated. He can really get things done,” Todd noted.

Todd said he is excited about the promotion.

“I am honored to be thought about for this and I want to do the best I can. I have always put my best foot forward for the city and I hope to continue to do that far into the future,” Todd noted. “I am just looking forward to a good working relationship with the city, the community in general and the county also.”

Todd has 25 years of experience in the department, including two as a volunteer firefighter and 23 as a full-time paid firefighter.

Todd admits that when he first started he never anticipated becoming assistant chief or chief.

“We want to keep up the service we have done for the community and would like to improve the service any way we can. There is always room for improvement,” he said.

Some goals he has for the department include keeping all the firefighters certified and motivated to do better. He hopes to eventually get a ladder truck for the department.

“I have a few ideas I want to hash around and write down on paper. We will have to go before the city council before we actually do anything,” Todd said. “Overall, I want to just continue what has been going on and do a little bit better job if we can.”

Todd has served as assistant chief since 2011.

Todd has numerous certifications as a firefighter, including in 2004 becoming the first Williamsburg firefighter to become nationally certified through the International Firefighter Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC).

While Privett served as chief for more than 20 years, Todd isn’t currently eying tenure of that duration.

Todd admits that he is considering retirement in another six or seven years, but noted that could change.

There are a total of 20 firefighters in the department including a mixture of paid firefighters and volunteers.

In addition, Marty “Bo” Gilley has been hired as a new full-time paid firefighter for the department.